Willie Clarke (footballer) explained

Willie Clarke
Fullname:William Gibb Clark
Birth Date:3 March 1878
Birth Place:Mauchline, Scotland
Death Place:Tunbridge Wells, England
Position:Outside-right
Nationalyears1:1897
Nationalteam1:Scotland Juniors
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Years1:–1896
Clubs1:Kelburn
Years2:1896–1897
Clubs2:Crown Athletic
Years3:1897–1900
Clubs3:Third Lanark
Caps3:0
Goals3:0
Years4:1898–1899
Clubs4:Arthurlie
Years5:1899–1900
Clubs5:East Stirlingshire
Years6:1900–1901
Clubs6:Bristol Rovers
Caps6:20
Goals6:3
Years7:1901–1905
Clubs7:Aston Villa
Caps7:41
Goals7:5
Years8:1905–1909
Clubs8:Bradford City
Caps8:92
Goals8:15
Years9:1909–1911
Clubs9:Lincoln City
Caps9:35
Goals9:1
Years10:1911–1912
Clubs10:Croydon Common
Totalcaps:188
Totalgoals:24

William Gibb Clarke (3 March 1878 – 1949) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a winger. Clarke was the first Black professional footballer to score in the English Football League, while playing for Aston Villa in December 1901. He was also the second Black player to represent Scotland, after Andrew Watson, by playing for the Scotland juniors side in 1897.

Early life, ancestry and early career

Born in Mauchline, East Ayrshire to Alexander and Jemima Clark in 1878, his father was born in Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana.[1] [2] Born William Clark, he would be referred to as Willie Clarke after he moved to England later in his life. Records show that his grandfather Duncan Clark worked as a wood cutter and married a local woman named Cecilia Hutton, with their son Alexander being sent back to Scotland to boarding school.[1] Clarke's family moved to Glasgow in the 1890s when his father found work as an engine fitter.[1] In early 1900 William was listed as an upholsterer in Glasgow's Cathcart Street.[3]

Club career

Scotland

Clarke played for junior clubs Kelburn and Crown Athletic before Scottish Football League side Third Lanark signed him in 1897, some sources also suggest he played for Govan side Benburb.[4] He did not break into the first team there and was registered to non-League sides Arthurlie and East Stirlingshire between 1898 and 1900 while Third Lanark continued to hold his league registration.[5]

England

Clarke attracted interest of a Southern Football League side in 1899 but ultimately signed for East Stirlingshire instead.[6] The following year he did move to the Southern League, joining Bristol Rovers. In over a decade in the Southern Football League and Football League Divisions One and Two, Clarke played for Bristol Rovers, Aston Villa, Bradford City, and Lincoln City.[7] [8] [9] He later played for Croydon Common before retirement in 1912.[1]

In 1901, while playing for Aston Villa, Clarke became the first non-white player to score in the English First Division.[10] [11] [12]

International career

Clarke was called up to the Scotland juniors side in 1897. He played against Ireland in Belfast on 27 March 1897 and contributed to a 3–1 win.[13]

Later life and military service

Having retired from his football in 1912 Clarke served in World War I, being among the first to sign up in August 1914. Willie was initially a Private in the Middlesex Regiment, and later moved regiments to become a Sapper in the Royal Engineers.[14] He served in the theatre of war and was awarded the 1914 Star, Victory Medal and the British War Medal.[15] Following the war he moved to Tunbridge Wells in Kent and worked as an upholsterer, continuing the trade he had learned in Glasgow before his professional football career.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hern, B, & Gleave, D . Football's Black Pioneers . August 2020 . Conker Editions . 978-1999900854 . 1st . 27 August 2020.
  2. Book: 1881 Scotland Census . 4 April 1881 . Scotland. 1881 Scotland Census. Reels 1-338. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. . Parish: Mauchline; ED: 1; Page: 4; Line: 17; Roll: cssct1881_193 .
  3. News: Local Notices . 10 September 2020 . Motherwell Times . 27 April 1900.
  4. A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players. John Litster. Scottish Football Historian magazine. October 2012.
  5. News: Hemmens . Ian . The Dusky Flier . 28 August 2020 . . 2015.
  6. News: Athletic Notes . 1 October 2020 . Falkirk Herald and Midland Counties Journal . British Newspaper Archive . 19 August 1899.
  7. Web site: Profile. Aston Villa Player Database.
  8. Book: Frost, Terry. Bradford City: A Complete Record 1903–1988. Breedon Books Sport. 1988. 0-907969-38-0.
  9. News: Samuel . Richard . Liverpudliana . 9 September 2020 . Cricket and Football Field . 2 March 1907.
  10. Web site: Celebrating 106 Years of Black Footballers at Valley Parade. 6 July 2011. Dave Pendleton. Boy From Brazil.
  11. Web site: Football's Black Pioneers on Radio Leeds . Football's Black Pioneers . 9 September 2020.
  12. Book: Murray . Scott . The Title: The Story of the First Division . September 2017 . . 9781472936622 . 1st .
  13. Web site: Mitchell . Andy . Willie Clarke – Scotland's second black internationalist . Scottish Sport History . 14 October 2020.
  14. Web site: Gleave . David . William Gibb Clarke – Football Pioneer and Soldier . Football's Black Pioneers . 18 September 2020 . 1 October 2020.
  15. Engineers Regiment: Roll of Individuals Entitled to the Victory Medal and British War Medal Granted Under Army Orders . Army Medals and Awards Roll for William G. Clarke (Regt. #:87338) . 1919 . 9840 . 10 September 2020.